Pharomachrus
by Imperial Mint
Summary: Manga chapter 820 coda. There are some fights that just can't be won, and some that can be won in a different way. Winning isn't always about defeat, after all. MarcoAce
**Pairing: Ace/Marco**

 **Notes:  
**

This is a small tag along to information in chapter 820. Of course this will probably be proved so inaccurate soon but who cares.

And if you'd like to imagine this ends happily and not canonically, it can totally fit into the same universe as Tigris. No one likes an unhappy ending after all (especially me).

thank you to lunarshores for betaing!

 **.**

He loses, Marco registers. He loses this fight, and there's been so much building on this. Teach will only get stronger if they let him roam unchecked, but Marco loses. It's so crucial, and here he is, failing the remainder of his crew just how he failed in the past. He thought he could handle it, but here he is, floating in the darkness as the ground rumbles below him. Teach is powerful, Marco thinks, and Marco doesn't have the heart to pull through anymore.

He takes a breath, closing his eyes against the darkness. Could he have defeated Teach? Maybe. Maybe he wants to leave Teach to someone else deep down, someone like Ace's brother. He has reason to want to kill Teach after all, and maybe Marco is just too old to have something to prove. Too old and too hurting.

It doesn't matter, not really. Whatever the reason, he's losing right now, lost in the darkness. His ears are full of the ringing of Teach's laughter, and Marco grits his teeth. He's lost, and while he's made a mark on Teach, it's not enough. Will it ever be enough?

Marco wipes blood away from his mouth, swallowing as his healing kicks in. It leaves him with a bitter taste in his mouth these days. All this healing, all this power, and yet Marco's heart aches every morning he wakes up alone. There are some things that will never be healed, so what's the point of healing anything?

Can he survive this darkness, Marco wonders. He can feel it cloying against his skin, and he takes a deep breath, trying to shake the shivers from his skin. The world seems only to grow darker and darker, and Marco throws an arm out, stalling when he thinks about what he's about to do.

Does he want to escape? Does he want to go on living? The past few months have been unlike any Marco has experienced before, and he's so tired.

Something curls against his hand, and Marco starts, eyes opening. The world is bright, sun warm above him, and Marco is terrified to look at the figure beside him. He is barefoot in lush grass, a sweet ocean breeze rolling in, and Marco thinks this is paradise if he's ever seen it.

"You don't need to do everything by yourself," a stern voice says, the figure at his side pulling him one way, dragging him over to the side, where a slight hill sat. Before Marco can really process what's happening, he's being pulled down to the ground, facing out to the ocean.

It looks so calm, so peaceful. He hasn't felt like this in a long while, and he smiles slightly, enjoying the feel of the sun on his skin. This is freedom, Marco thinks, and he doesn't want to leave.

"Though I can understand why you didn't just sit around doing nothing. Not with what he did."

Marco looks away from the sea and up to the sky. There isn't a single cloud, the sky is a deep blue, and Marco doesn't think he's seen a day this nice in weeks.

"What would you do?" Marco asks, humour colouring his voice. As he predicts, his companion laughs, loud, and bumps their shoulders together.

"You know exactly what I'd do," he says. "And look how well that turned out," he finishes, as if the issue is nothing more than oversleeping.

Marco hums, attempting lightheartedness, but his voice catches at the back of his throat. He feels tears burn hot and fast, spilling over before he can stop himself. He hunches over, clutching fistfuls of grass as tears pour down his cheeks. This isn't something he can control, so Marco doesn't bother. It is what it is, and he needs this.

"Ace," Marco breaths out, shaky breaths taking over from the tears. He doesn't bother wiping his face yet, though it needs it. He glances to the side, remembering a time when Ace was his everything, and he grits his teeth against the fresh wave of grief.

Ace still is his everything really. That's not something death can change. It's something that will never change- simple as that. Marco looks at him properly, turning his shoulders, and Ace looks back, unsure whether he is allowed to comfort Marco.

He looks how Marco expects him to; that is to say older and wiser. He is broader, more muscular, and his eyes have deeper crinkles. He looks as if he's lived a good life with much more ahead, looks happy. Marco has no idea if this is really Ace or just his imagination, but he doesn't care. Good things are rare, and Marco really, really doesn't want to curse this.

"Whatever you do will be the right thing," Ace assures him gently, his face breaking into a gentle smile. It hurts, so Marco looks away, even as his hand seeks to catch Ace's again. He threads their fingers together as he watches gulls on the shore, swooping on the air currents. Of course he'll do the right thing, Marco thinks. The right thing is protecting the remainder of his crew, and Marco will always do that.

"It's different," Marco admits, closing his eyes and turning his head down. Ace lets his head rest against Marco's shoulder, and he feels greater than he has in months. He feels whole again, his nerves tingling every place Ace is touching. His eyes water,and Ace strokes the back of his hand slowly.

"Nothing ever stays the same," Ace agrees, voice low. It's the voice they shared in the quiet of morning, when the sun was just rising and they weren't ready to get up. It's the voice they shared when they were tired, but refused to sleep as they wanted to spend more time together. It's a voice just for them, something secret, and it fills Marco's chest to the brim.

There is a moment of silence, and the gulls call as they move inland. They dip and dive, so carefree, and Marco looks at Ace as he moves, watching them with wonder, as if he's never seen gulls before.

There are so many small things Marco has forgotten about Ace. Like the triangle of freckles just to the left of his nose, the way his lip curls on just one side when he's concentrating, and the small scar on his jaw. Marco suddenly remembers that, from a mission they undertook together. Ace had refused to let it burn with his powers, and Marco had offered to clean it up properly. He remembers the rest of that evening, curled together under the blankets in the start of their relationship.

His hair blows as the wind picks up, and Marco feels a clench in his chest. It's a spike so painful and harrowing, and Marco almost wishes he can stay here.

"Ace," he says, full of longing. Ace is the only one he's loved, the only one he'll ever love, and he doesn't know how he can say goodbye.

"Marco," Ace replies, and he turns to him, brow furrowed and lips wobbly. He looks like he's about to cry, and Marco thinks this is incredibly unfair.

"I miss you so much," Marco lets slip, and Ace flings his arm around him, burying Marco's face against his chest. Marco can hear his heart beating, can feel Ace breathing heavily, and he allows himself to be held, hands moving to clutch Ace's back.

"I'm so tired," Marco adds, and one of Ace's hands moves into his hair, kissing his temple. He has always loved Marco, this is something that is undoubtable, and always will. It's as if Marco can feel himself filling with something he's been missing, and he can find peace here.

He knows he can't, though.

"I know," Ace says, and Marco pulls back. He searches Ace's eyes, and Ace grins, grabbing the front of Marco's shirt and pulling him down as he moves back. Ace hits the grass with a whump, and his arms are already wrapping around Marco's shoulders.

"It isn't so bad," Ace says as Marco leans over him. His hair falls in his eyes, and Ace moves a hand to brush it away, stroking Marco's cheek. "I'll wait for you, just as I know you'll wait for me."

Perhaps in another life there might have been time to move on for Marco, but he knows he'll never have someone else. Ace is everything to him, will always be everything, and while he misses him so much it hurts, Marco can never replace that. It is who he is.

He kisses Ace gently, a light brush of lips. It feels so strange to be kissing someone after so long, and Marco pulls back just to look at Ace again. His eyes are closed, lips pouted slightly, and Marco smiles when he cracks an eyelid, frowning.

So Marco kisses him properly, letting his arm support him as he moves over Ace. Kissing Ace is like swimming. Marco always forgets he knows how to do both until he's diving in, and he closes his eyes inhaling as he feels his world darken. He doesn't want to say goodbye to Ace - not again, not this time - but he has to. There are people waiting for him, and Marco still has so much to do. There are people who needed Ace too, and since Ace can't be there for them, Marco needs to make sure he can instead.

He returns slowly to the fight, Ace fading from his embrace. The darkness is back fully, but Marco feels far from hopeless. He knows what to do now, and there is no uncertainty in his heart. His head and chest are full of Ace, and he knows he is more powerful than ever.

Teach looks surprised when Marco blazes brightly, wings straining against a few tendrils of darkness as they fight to hold him back. There's nothing that will stop him now, not with Ace's love flowing through his veins, and it would be so easy to crush Teach now.

If he did that, though, Marco knows he will die, and that is unacceptable. His crew need him, his family need him, and there is a young generation that needs to be overseen. Marco has no doubt he'll meet Ace's brother in the future, and there is so much he has to share and so much he wants to know.

It's an easy decision to leave Teach behind, and he calls his family to follow. These are the empty years, time they will never regain, but Marco has a plan, and his plan involves getting his family away from here.

There is something like pity in his stomach for a moment as Marco looks back. Teach is just watching, beaten and bruised, and Marco shakes his head. He's the last man now, the rest on their ships, and he pauses. For someone with so much power, Teach has too much pain and selfishness inside of him. Nothing good will come of him, Marco is sure, but he isn't a problem they can solve by themselves.

He knows they can survive though. Marco knows his crew is strong and loved, and he knows that, whatever happens, Ace will always be waiting for him. It gives him strength, and Marco thinks that he can finally lead his family with the respect and love they deserve.

It might not be their era any more, but there is someone Marco knows they can support. They can do that, he thinks, and he catches Jozu's eye as he lands on the deck. He seems surprised, and Marco wonders if he changed so much in one battle.

"I have an idea," Marco begins, and he knows he has everyone's attention. His voice is firm, full of fighting fire despite their loss against Teach, and he thinks they can do just about anything if they wanted to.

He may not be with them, but Ace is still part of them, and he always will be.

.

Years later, Marco smiles as his eyes scan the papers pinned to their board. He can hear the shouts from his crew and he stands from his seat. He's watched the return of the Strawhats and the fall of Dressrosa, heard of the passing of the Mera Mera no Mi, and he knows they're about to play a big hand in whatever adventure the Strawhats are about to embark upon.

"You'd be proud," Marco says as he stands, one hand pressing his chest while the other tapped a wanted poster, Ace's beaming face watching over him as he passes by. For a brief moment, there is the scent of ocean breeze, the sound of gulls, the feel of grass, and the comforting presence he misses every day, before it passes.

And then Marco is gone, ready to return with his family. The world has been waiting, and Marco is sure they're about to put on a mighty show.

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